Italy Football History
The most popular game of Italy, Football, started to widen its sphere of fame once the country participated in their first football match against France in Milan on 15th May’ 1910, which they won by 6-2. They got the chance to participate in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 but the officials declined to participate. However, the first ever success in a mega event that came Italy’s way was in the Summer Olympics of 1938 at Amsterdam when they defeated Egypt by a huge margin of 11-3 and clinched the Bronze medal.
Italy national football team is popularly known as Azzurri due to the blue color of their jerseys. Blue color is called Azure in the country representing the royal colour of the kingdom that united Italy back in 1861. The soccer history of the country has been on a roller coaster ride with a terrible shock coming in 1949 when 10 out of 11 players of the national football team lost their lives in the Superga air disaster. The loss reflected in the following 1950 World Cup when they weren’t able to advance after the first round of the tournament.
Italy’s Success Stories
Italy has been quite successful in their football journey till date. They were among the few countries that pioneered and reached perfection in the game. Their first major victory came at the 1938 Summer Olympics at Amsterdam when they got a Bronze medal after defeating Egypt 11-3. Under the guidance of team coach Vittorio Pozzo, the Azzuri won consecutive FIFA World Cup titles in 1934 and 1938. It took 30 years for Italy to register another win at any major tournament when they beat Yugoslavia to win the European Championship in 1968. They came back to win the 1982 World Cup by 3-1 in an exciting game against West Germany. After a title draught of 24 years, Italy won the 2006 World Cup to become only the second nation after Brazil to win 4 titles. Italy has also qualified for the upcoming 2014 World Cup.
Italy squad |
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| Goalkeepers: | Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) Mattia Perin (Genoa) Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint Germain) |
Defenders: | Ignazio Abate (Milan) Andrea Barzagli (Juventus) Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus) Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) Matteo Darmian (Torino) Mattia De Sciglio (Milan) Christian Maggio (Napoli) Gabriel Paletta (Parma) Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina) Andrea Ranocchia (Inter) |
| Midfielders: | Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina) Antonio Candreva (Lazio) Daniele De Rossi (Roma) Claudio Marchisio (Juventus) Riccardo Montolivo (Milan) Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain) Marco Parolo (Parma) Andrea Pirlo (Juventus) Romulo (Hellas Verona) Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain) |
Forwards: | Mario Balotelli (Milan) Antonio Cassano (Parma) Alessio Cerci (Torino) Mattia Destro (Roma) Ciro Immobile (Torino) Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) Giuseppe Rossi (Fiorentina) |
Italy’s progress card in all FIFA World Cups
| World Cup Year | World Cup Hosting Nation | FIFA Qualification | Quarter Final Birth | Semi Final Birth | Third Place Secured | Reached Final | Title Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | South Africa | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 | Germany | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Won |
| 2002 | South Korea | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1998 | France | Yes | Yes | No | No | – | – |
| 1994 | United States | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lost |
| 1990 | Italy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | – | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | Spain | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Won |
| 1978 | Argentina | Yes | Yes | No | No | – | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Lost |
| 1966 | England | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1938 | France | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Won |
| 1934 | Italy | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Won |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Not Played | – | – | – | – | |
| Total | 19 World Cups | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 4 |